


Perfect Pane of Glass

by orphan_account



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2018-10-21 01:37:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10675011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: One of them is bound to confess to the other accidentally one day.Just not in the form they want them to be in.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Heeelllooo folks welcome to my first ML fic o:  
> should warn y'all its not gonna be like Super Long because i have terrible motivation but yeah its gonna happen
> 
> Poor Marinette and Adrien are gonna get beaten up a fair bit, but they're not gonna die. Probably. Have fun :D

Marinette watched the rain through her window as it pounded down onto the streets of Paris. Behind her, Tikki flitted about in circles, observing whenever she passed, but not doing much else.  
“What’cha thinkin’ about, Marinette?” Tikki finally asked after a few long minutes of silence. Marinette didn’t take her eyes off of the grey skies outside, but she did take a few moments to consider her answer.   
“Cat Noir.”   
“Oooh?” Tikki flew over to sit on her shoulder, “What do you mean?”   
“He doesn’t like rain.” the statement was a mumble, as though Marinette’s mind had already drifted off to wherever.   
“You don’t like rain. That’s why you’re not on patrol, silly!” Tikki replied brightly.   
“He is, though.” Marinette finally climbed down from the sill and returned to her bed, to her laptop. Her chat window with Alya stayed open, though her best friend was not there. Alya was at Nino’s house, preparing for a Chemistry test that Marinette should probably have been studying for.   
“How do you know Cat Noir is on patrol?” Tikki interrupted her mental tangent with the question, and Marinette sighed.   
“Call it sixth sense, or intuition. I just know.” Marinette rolled her eyes, “And we should probably go find him. Tikki, spots on!”

 

After she had transformed, she crept out of the window into the rain, making noises of disgust all the while.

She found Cat with relative ease- maybe it was her luck, maybe she just knew the silly cat too well by now, but either way he was perched on a support bar a little ways up the Eiffel Tower. And, _oh God_ , Marinette thought as she swung herself up to him, _he has an umbrella._   
“My lady!” Cat greeted her with surprise as she landed on the same bar as him, “It’s raining!”   
“Yes, Cat, it does that sometimes.” she smiled at him, rolling her eyes playfully. He rushed to her side and held the umbrella over her head, sheltering her from the rain. She shivered and nodded her thanks to him, turning to look out across Paris.   
“Why are you on patrol?” Cat asked, mimicking her watchful gaze, “You hate the rain.”   
“So do you!” Ladybug replied quickly, “B-but I knew you were out, and I couldn’t leave y-you out here alone! What kind of superhero p-partner would I be?”   
“A dry one.” Cat said flatly, side-eyeing her, “And a warm one, too- Ladybug, you’re freezing.”   
“I-it’s n-n-not that b-b-bad.” She offered, despite the fact that she was, in fact, very cold. Cat sighed at her, and put an arm around her shoulders to try and keep her warm.   
They stood for a few minutes in the rain before the first shouts went up, a few streets behind the first row of shops and houses they could see to the east.   
“Akuma?” She asked Cat, and he nodded hard.   
“Akuma.” He folded the umbrella and tucked it safely into a nook against a vertical support beam. After a brief, shared look of determination, they took off toward the site of the screaming, where smoke was slowly beginning to spiral into the rain.

 

They landed lightly on a roof overlooking the disastrous scene. Cars had been thrown, tore in half with what appeared to be huge claws, and the marks of the “mauling” of sorts littered the buildings too. In the centre of the wreckage, in a circle of unbroken paving stones, stood the person that both Ladybug and Cat Noir immediately picked as the akumatised victim. They let out a cackle as they swept a hand almost idly to their left, where Ladybug and Cat were sat, leaving a shadowy trail in their movement. Ladybug gave a startled exclamation as the building they were perched on trembled, three deep lines carved into the walls below, and she almost fell off of the edge. Cat caught her wrist before she could slip out of his reach, but it had the unfortunate effect of attracting their target’s attention. Tiles clattered off of the roof under Ladybug's scrambling feet, and the akuma victim turned suddenly, slit pupils narrowing as they locked their gaze on the two superheroes.  
“Ladybug and Cat Noir!”   
They groaned a little in unison before bouncing off of the crumbling wall to land a short distance in front of the villain. To their surprise, their villain bowed to them, dramatically, almost like a stage actor. “Hello, hello, welcome to the show. My name is Renoir, and I’ll be your presenter for the rest of your short lives.” They tilted their head up and gave a devilish grin, drinking in the surprise on Ladubug and Cat Noir’s faces. They slashed suddenly in the superheroes’ direction, making Ladybug drop to the floor, and Cat Noir spring into the air to avoid the shadowy claws that rived through the tree and car that sat behind the space he had occupied second before.   
“Yikes,” he exclaimed as he landed and Ladybug rolled to her feet again, “That’s dangerous.”   
“Any idea where the akuma is?” Ladybug replied, spinning her yo-yo to deflect another strike. Cat Noir raked his eyes across Renoir’s fox-like costume, looking for any kind of accessory that might fit with their theme.   
“Ears? Headband?” He shouted to his partner, springing from one side of Renoir to the other as they turned to snarl in his direction.   
“Maybe!” Ladybug replied, “Let’s try for that! But how can we get close with- Oops!” she hit the floor a split second too slow, and the very edge of the giant, shadowy claws caught her arm.   
“You’re bleeding!” Cat was at her side in seconds, scooping her up and springing out of range to the top of a building. He sat her down and, as gently as he could, took hold of her arm.   
“It’s nothing,” Ladybug shook her head, “I’ve had worse from knives at-” she halted herself before she could say ‘the bakery’ and give away her home. It was true, though- she’d cut herself much deeper whilst cooking- she’d even stabbed herself deeper with scissors whilst making clothes.   
Cat looked at her, chewing his lip gently in concern. Renoir crooned threats from below, and they could both feel the building tremble as they carved its insides out.   
“Okay,” he relented, “Let’s finish this up quickly though, I don’t want you to bleed too much.”   
“Okay.” Ladybug nodded, standing, “Lucky charm!” and in a shower of light and sparkling hearts, a pair of handcuffs fell into her hands.   
“What’re _they_ for?” Cat Noir frowned, and Ladybug grinned brightly,   
“For their hands! They can’t use their powers if their hands are secured!” She shoved the handcuffs at him, and he spluttered a little as she swung across the void between the two sides of the street, catching Renoir’s attention.   
“She’s behind me!” Renoir sung as they turned to face her, swinging a hand in her direction and just missing her. Three more large, shadowy rifts appeared in the wall of the building, and Ladybug responded by throwing her yo-yo at them, winding it around their arms and pinning them together, “Now, Cat Noir!”   
Cat Noir pounced, securing the handcuffs as Ladybug landed, skidding a little on the slick roof of the building. Once Cat gave her the thumbs up, she yanked her yo-yo back and swung down to join him, pushing Renoir to the ground and keeping them there with a gentle but firm foot placed directly on their stomach.   
“Your days of wreaking evil are over!” She exclaimed, smug as she tugged at one of Renoir’s ears.   
“Ow!” they exclaimed, “Those are no stage trick!” they glowered at her, “Those are…” and they trailed off as their eyes fixated onto the blood slowly trickling down Ladybug’s arm.   
“Then where’s the akuma?” Ladybug frowned.   
“Collar? Bracelets?”   
“Don’t touch my bracelets!” Renoir’s fixation shattered and they began to squirm under Ladybug’s foot. Ladybug and Cat Noir shared a look of concern,   
“Probably the bracelets.” Ladybug commented, “Cat, could you…?”   
“My pleasure, my lady. Cataclysm!” the bubbling black aura surrounded his clawed hand, and he gently ran his fingertips down Renoir’s bracelets, watching them dissolve and trying to ignore the unearthly scream Renoir gave, continuing even as they de-transformed. Ladybug stepped off of them and swung for the akuma that fluttered away from her desperately, de-evilising it. She unclipped the handcuffs and threw them up into the air, letting them burst into flecks of light that zipped around her and the street, repairing the damage caused by Renoir.   
Back in their civilian from once again, Renoir was quieter now, sobbing, curled into a ball. Ladybug’s earrings flickered to their third dot, and Cat Noir started, “My lady, your miraculous-”   
“I know, but not yet.” Ladybug crouched next to Renoir, her voice slipping into the soothing tone she reserved for scared victims, “Hey, are you ok?”   
“My bracelets! I can’t- I can’t be outside- not without my b-bracelets I-” They hiccuped their way through the sentence, and Ladybug turned her eyes back to Cat Noir,   
“Go get the umbrella, Cat.” She commanded, and he obeyed quickly. Whilst he was gone, Ladybug sat to talk to Renoir, “It’s okay, I’ll fix it. What’s your name?”   
“Qu-Quinn Crevan.” they stumbled over their own name, clutching their arm to their chest, they looked up and started at the sight of blood- Ladybug’s gash had not healed with the reparations of the street, “You’re bleeding- did- did I do that?” Their face crumpled again, and Ladybug shushed them quickly, concerned.   
“The umbrella.” Cat Noir handed the offending object to her, and her earrings beeped down to two.   
“Hey, Quinn, it’s okay! Don’t worry, look,” she tore a strip of fabric off of the umbrella, “I’m going to fix this. Can I have your arm?”   
“Please don’t laugh.” Quinn hiccuped and held their arm out to her. As Ladybug had guessed, scars littered their forearm- this is what the bracelets had been hiding, and probably what had caused Quinn’s akumatisation.   
“It’s okay.” Ladybug smiled despite the sad, sick feeling in the bottom of her stomach. Carefully, she tied a few strips of material around their arm, covering their scars, then handed them the umbrella. “Stay safe, Quinn. Let’s go, Cat.” and they waved as they swung to the rooftops.

 

They stood for a moment to breathe on the roof, and Ladybug’s earrings beeped in their penultimate warning. “Shoot! Gotta go, see ya Cat!” she exclaimed, leaping away.

He stared after her in awe, overwhelmed, whispering,   
"I love you..."

Ladybug could pretend she didn't hear Cat Noir's breathy statement as she swung away from him. If she didn't falter when she next landed, she could avoid rejecting him and watching his heart shatter in those deep green eyes.

So she didn't falter. She left him standing, staring after her in awe, breathless and exhausted. She left him there to detransform- thank God there was no press swarming the scene- and wander home in the rain.

 

She landed lightly on her balcony, casting a glance in his direction.

She wished she could love Cat. She wished she could make him happy.

But her heart... it already belonged to Adrien.

 

Adrien showered as soon as he got home. The rain clung to him like sadness does to a heartbroken person, and all he wanted to do right then was sear it straight from his skin.

The water was hot, he could only just bear it. Clouds of steam billowed, and he found himself exhaling heavily as the last of them dissipated.

 

Dripping slightly, he paced into his room, tousling his hair with the towel briefly before he dropped it into the washing basket. “Plagg?”  
“Hey.” Even the Kwami sounded put out, Adrien spotted him sitting on the top of his sofa and trudged over to join him.   
“How about that rain, huh?”   
“How about that Ladybug?” Plagg replied. Adrien grimaced- even exhausted, Plagg could pick up on his fault lines and chip away there.   
“I don’t wanna talk about it.”   
“About what? About her?” Plagg persisted, “About the way she _definitely_ heard you?”   
“She wouldn’t just ignore me.” Adrien shook his head, though even he knew he was kidding himself.   
“Why are you so obsessed with her, huh?” Plagg questioned, taking a bite out of his camembert. Adrien frowned at him,   
“I’m not _obsessed_ , Plagg, I’m in love.”   
“Okay, but why?”   
“Because-” Adrien was rescued from the stifling conversation by the sound of his door clicking open. Plagg tipped himself down, and zipped into Adrien’s jacket as Nathalie walked in.   
“Adrien? It’s late. You need to sleep, you have a Chemistry test tomorrow.”   
“Oh no!” Adrien stood suddenly, “I forgot about the test!”   
“It’s okay.” Nathalie smiled slightly, holding a few sheets of paper out to him, “I condensed your revision for you. You can revise in the car tomorrow morning.”   
“Thank you!” Adrien oozed relief as he dashed over to take the sheets from her, “I’ll go to sleep now. Thank you again.”   
“Goodnight, Adrien.” Nathalie inclined her head to him as she pushed the door open.   
“Goodnight!” he called after her, managing to get it in before the door swung closed behind her. He tucked the sheets safely into his school bag and turned his lights off, the path back to bed illuminated only by the distant Parisian lights, and the screen of his phone, sat on his pillow.   
As he settled, he found himself struck by the sudden urge to text one of his classmates.   
  
[Today at 12:12AM - TO: Marinette Dupain-Cheng]   
hey Marinette! sorry its so late, but have you revised for the test tomorrow?   
  
He didn’t expect his classmate to still be awake, especially the night before a test, but his reply came in less than a minute.

 

[Today at 12:13AM - FROM: Marinette Dupain-Cheng]

Oh no! I totally forget about the test! Thanks for reminding me, Adrien! :)

 

Adrien let out a breath that vaguely resembled a laugh, shaking his head a little at his forgetful classmate.  
  
[Today at 12:14AM - TO: Marinette Dupain-Cheng]   
i have revision sheets if you want to borrow them tomorrow! anyway, shouldnt you be asleep? its late!   
  
[Today at 12:14AM - FROM: Marinette Dupain-Cheng]   
I’d appreciate that, thanks! :) And I could say the same for you, we both have that exam! :P   
  
[Today at 12:15AM - TO: Marinette Dupain-Cheng]   
haha, okay fair enough, im going to sleep now anyway, goodnight Marinette.   
  
He added a picture of a sleeping cat for good measure and sent the message, silenced his phone, and put it on charge beside his bed. He smiled to himself as he turned over and slipped into a calm sleep.

 

[Today at 12:16AM - FROM: Marinette Dupain-Cheng]  
I should do the same. Night Adrien! Sleep well. :)

  


In her room, Marinette was the combination of giddy and terrified that made the butterflies feel like they were repeatedly vomiting in her stomach. She held her phone above her head, staring at the chat window for a solid two minutes before Tikki knocked the phone out of her hands, landing it directly on her forehead.  
“Owch! Tikki!” Marinette exclaimed- in a whisper, of course, it was late.   
“Sorry Marinette, but Adrien is right, you need to sleep!” Tikki said through giggles, and Marinette huffed in faux anger as she leaned over the side of her bed to plug her phone in.   
“You’re right, as always. Can you get the lights, please?”   
“Sure.” Tikki flitted over to the light switch, “Goodnight Marinette!”   
“‘Night.”   
Click.

  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They ace the exam, nothing else really happens.

[Today at 08:34AM - FROM: Adrien <3]   
good morning! would you like a ride to school? we can revise on the way.   
  
“Oh gosh, Tikki!” Marinette waved her phone in the Kwami’s direction, “He’s offering me a ride to school! What do I say?”   
“You say yes!” Tikki flitted around in front of her, excited, “You do need to study for that test!”   
“Right.” Marinette replied firmly.   
  
[Today at 08:35AM - TO: Adrien <3]   
Yes, please! I’d love that! :D   
  
[Today at 08:36AM - FROM: Adrien <3]   
okay! well be about 10 minutes.   
  
[Today at 08:36 - TO: Adrien <3]   
You know my address? :O   
  
Adrien cursed under his breath as he slid into the car. How would he explain away the fact that he’d memorised her address from the few times she’d given it to him as Cat Noir?   
  
[Today at 08:38 - TO: Marinette Dupain-Cheng]   
you live above your parents bakery right?

 

[Today at 08:38 - FROM: Marinette Dupain-Cheng]   
Oh, yes, I do! See you soon! <3

 

[Today at 08:38 - FROM: Marinette Dupain-Cheng]   
Sorry!!! I meant :) sorry!

 

[Today at 08:38 - TO: Marinette Dupain-Cheng]   
its okay dont worry :)

 

Marinette groaned as she basically slithered down the stairs, greeted by her parents in the second floor dining room.   
“Good morning sweetie,” her mother smiled at her, “how did you sleep?”   
“I slept fine, thank you.” Marinette replied with a weak smile.   
“Oh dear,” Sabine bustled over to help her up, “What’s wrong?”   
“Adrien is giving me a ride to school.” Marinette brushed herself off, “For some last minute team revision.”   
“Is that bad?” Tom asked as he set the breakfast plates down on the table, and Marinette picked a croissant before she replied,   
“Not bad! Just… nerve-wracking, you know?” she smiled before biting into the pastry.   
“You’ll be fine! Come down with me, I’ll pack some macarons for you both.” Sabine patted her daughter on the shoulder gently, and led her down into the bakery to fulfill her promise.   
As Marinette took the box from her, thanking her, Sabine caught hold of her arm and inspected the cut from the day before,   
“How did you do this?”   
“Oh!” Marinette’s mind raced for an excuse, “I… left the scissors in a drawer and caught myself on them when I was getting my clothes out for today!”   
“Oh, Marinette, you really must be more careful!” Sabine shook her head, and Marinette sighed in relief that her bluff had worked.   
“I know, I will be!”

 

[Today at 08:46 - FROM: Adrien <3]   
hi, were outside!

 

“He’s here! Thanks mom,” Marinette leaned in to kiss her mother on the cheek, “See you after school!”   
“Have a good day, honey.” Sabine bid her daughter farewell, waving as she headed out the door.   
  
“Hello, Marinette.” Nathalie greeted when Adrien opened the door for her. Adrien smiled at her, a little sheepishly, and she smiled back.   
“Hello! Thank you for the ride.” she kept her tone as polite as she could. This seemed to placate Nathalie, who returned to typing on her phone. Marinette buckled up and closed the door, flushing deeply at the close proximity to Adrien.   
“Here,” Adrien handed her a sheet, “I was thinking we could read the sheets, then swap and quiz one another?”   
“Exyes- I um, I mean, yes! Excellent idea!”   
Adrien laughed softly, distracted by the information on the sheet. With a gentle prod from Tikki, Marinette turned her eyes from Adrien to the paper and read over the information there. It was laid out simply, but effectively, and even with the low concentration she could give to it, she felt she was learning.   
She realised suddenly that Adrien was looking at her, and spluttered what was probably not a word as she sat upright and met his gaze,   
“Wanna swap now?”

 

Alya spotted her climbing out of Adrien’s car and thanking the driver profusely, and collared her almost immediately afterwards to press her for details. What she got instead was a spluttering, melting pile of Marinette who couldn’t even string two words together, one of Adrien’s revision sheets crushed in her fist. Alya dragged her into the locker rooms to let her slump to the floor and sputter out, a series of half-words that continued for a few minutes before she went quiet.   
“So…” Alya broke the silence, “Adrien’s car? How’d that happen?”   
“He, uh, text me last night. To ask about the test.” Marinette picked herself up and dusted herself down, “Since neither of us had revised, he- he asked me to revise with him!” this was followed by a high pitched noise, not unlike the sound of air escaping from a balloon, and Alya chuckled even as she clamped her hands over her ears.   
“That’s incredible, girl!” she patted Marinette on the shoulder when she stop screeching, “Are you ready for the test, though?”   
“Yeah!” Marinette replied enthusiastically, offering the sheet she’d accidentally stolen to Alya for inspection, “The sheets are really good! And we had a sort of quiz to make sure we knew it. I’m going to ace it!”   
“Good job, Marinette!” Alya handed the sheet back, along with the box of macarons that she’d confiscated before her clutzy friend could crush them in her excitement and alarm.   
“Thank you!” Marinette glowed, “We should get to class though.” and before the last word was completely out of her mouth, the warning bell rang, and both girls began their sprint to class.

 

“Almost late, Alya, Marinette.” Miss Bustier smiled as they rushed in the door, a hint of stern to her voice.   
“Sorry, Miss Bustier!” they replied in unison, sliding into their seats. Miss Bustier opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, there was shouting from just outside the classroom- Chloé, of course.   
“Would you excuse me a moment?” Their teacher smiled tersely and stepped out of the classroom. Alya elbowed Marinette the second the door closed,   
“Aren’t those for Adrien?” she pointed at the macarons, “Now is the perfect chance to give them to him!”   
“Oh! Right!” Marinette flushed, slipping out of her seat and almost tripping down the two steps between the two desks.   
“Whoa,” Adrien threw a hand out to catch her as she stumbled, “Are you okay?”   
“Yes!” it came out as little more than a squeak, and Marinette cleared her throat before continuing, “I! Have these for you! Thass- I mean- Thank you!” she pushed the box towards him, and he took it with a quick thanks, then caught her wrist as she drew back. Uh-oh, he’d noticed the red line down her arm from the fight the day before. A sense of recognition flickered in his mind, but he couldn’t quite figure out where he knew the placement from,   
“Hey, how’d you hurt yourself?” he asked, all concern and worried looks, “Are you okay?”   
“It was an accident with a knife at the bakery!” Marinette placated, cursing herself for not using the same excuse she’d used on her mother, “It’s-”   
“Marinette, seat, please!” Miss Bastier had returned without her realising, and Marinette yelped as she rushed back to her seat.

 

Once registered- featuring a record low of three snide comments from Chloé- the class was shipped off to Ms. Mendeleiev’s classroom for their exam. Adrien smiled at Marinette as she passed him to queue up, whispering a hasty “good luck” that she returned with approximately 90% more splutter.

 

“How’d you do, girl?” Alya caught Marinette on her way to lunch, pulling her out of a crowd of students to pause under a staircase.   
“I think I did well!” Marinette replied, relief draping over her like a blanket, “I don’t think I’ve failed, at least.”   
“Good job!” Alya grinned for her friend.   
“What about you, Alya? How did you do?” Marinette shouldered her bag and began the walk to the bakery for lunch.   
“Oh, not bad. I didn’t get much revision done.” Alya’s grin had dampened a little, but there was more smirk to her words now.   
“Nino distracts you more than he helps, you know that.” Marinette chastised her friend, but she was smiling too, “If you had fun, though, it was probably worth it.”   
“Definitely.” Alya agreed. Before they could walk out of the main gate, Marinette heard her name called from the side.   
“Hey! Marinette!”   
“Alya!”   
It was Adrien and Nino, who jogged to catch up to them. Adrien held Marinette’s macaron box in one hand, half empty. He waved a half-eaten macaron at them with the other.   
“Hey guys!” Alya greeted, “How’d you do?”   
“Not great,” Nino admitted, scratching at the back of his neck awkwardly, “But hopefully well enough to pass.”   
“I did okay, I think.” Adrien grinned, “Thanks to Marinette and her quizzing skills!”   
“Wha- noooo!” Marinette let the word draw out a little too long, “No no, it was- revision- your sheets were  _ really good _ .”    
“Ah, thanks, Nathalie put them together for me.” Adrien inclined his head a little, then offered the box to the two girls, “Macaron?”   
“Thanks!” Alya took one, grinning, and Marinette politely declined.   
“Ready for lunch?” She asked her friends, and three enthusiastic forms of the word ‘yes’ came hurtling back at her before she’d even finished the sentence.

They went to a diner just around the corner for lunch, a popular choice for their schoolmates, and purchased their dinner. Alya scooched Marinette into the corner, across from Adrien, so that she could talk to Nino. The two almost immediately delved into a deep conversation about music, leaving Adrien and Marinette to poke at their food in awkward silence.

  
“I am so ready for patrol,” Marinette groaned to Tikki that evening, stretching her sore muscles. She’d been working on her homework for hours by this point, and she was aching to get out.   
“We’re not scheduled for patrol tonight, are we?” Tikki popped her head out of the drawer, holding half a cookie that she had been eating.   
“No,” Marinette affirmed, “but I’m dying, cooped up in here. And I’d like to make sure everything is okay after yesterday.”   
“Good plan!” Tikki ate the rest of her cookie and swooped out, “Let’s go!”   
“Tikki, spots on!”   
Almost as soon as she’d transformed, her yo-yo began vibrating. Shocked, she opened it up, “Cat?”   
“My Lady, thank goodness!” her partner exclaimed, and she saw him duck quickly, “I wasn’t sure if you would be in costume tonight.”   
“I wanted to make sure there was no aftermath from yesterday, is everything okay?”   
“Oh- no, no I don’t think so. This doesn’t actually look like an akumatisation, but I’m sure it could be,” he turned the baton to the inside of the Agreste mansion, where a masked stranger was looking around dubiously. He spotted Cat Noir, hidden under a table, and made his way toward him. Out of the corner of the screen, Ladybug spotted a small, black butterfly.   
“I’m on my way!”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was a late night. It's not flunking if they're 'sick' is it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh uh uhhhhh a bit shorter than i aim for but mostly nice things

Ladybug arrived at the mansion in minutes, to find it completely locked up, dark, and with loud clattering coming from inside. She paused for a moment and chewed her lip, pondering how to get in without causing too much destruction. She realised that Cat must have gotten in somehow, and tapped her yo-yo to call him.  
  
“Ladybug!” Cat answered, running from something she couldn’t see, “You’re here?”   
“I’m outside; how did you get in?”   
Cat Noir cursed mentally and did some quick thinking, masking his silence as ‘concentrating on not dying’   
“The back door! It’s unlocked, I followed this guy in- gotta go, see ya soon!” he ended the call and rushed around the newly-akumatised villain to the back door, unlocking it only a moment before Ladybug burst in.   
“Fill me in.”   
“Looked like a routine robbery, but why would your average robber be akumatised?”   
“Good question. Guess we better find out.”   
The akuma had given up on them now, and turned away to continue searching the house- they noted as they crept up behind it that it was tearing the place apart, but not taking anything.   
“It’s looking for something.” Ladybug breathed to Cat in attempt to go unheard.   
She was unsuccessful.   
The thing turned, looming, dark, massive, and growled at the two of them. Behind the mask of the monster, Hawkmoth urged the beast to turn its attention to the two superheroes.

They rolled in separate directions as the hulking creature slammed a heavily clawed paw down between them.

It was a quick dispatch, and the robber turned out to be from a rival company of Gabriel Agreste’s, one that had just had an important contract stolen from them, and they were searching for Agreste’s sketchbook. Hoping to steal ideas.

Cat Noir and Ladybug waited for the police, and left as soon as possible, with their Miraculous’ beeping at them angrily.

 

Marinette dragged herself into school looking like she’d fall asleep any second. Even Ms Mendeleiev caught her as she left the classroom and told her to go home before she infected everyone else.

She spotted Adrien crawling out of school just before lunch looking exactly the same as she felt- _exhausted_ .   
Marinette had taken herself to the nearest café for coffee. _Strong_ coffee.

“I don’t see his usual escort car.” Marinette observed to Tikki, who was lapping droplets of the coffee from the lid, as tired as Marinette was.  
“He doesn’t look well.” Tikki replied, raising her eyes to look for only a moment before turning back to the cup.   
“He’s heading this way, slurp and hide, Tikki.” Marinette told the Kwami, who nodded and obeyed.

 

Adrien swore he nearly tripped over his own feet twice, but he remained determined to just… have some time to himself before he went home, it was rare to get the luxury of being untracked and unobserved, at least as Adrien. He was so focused on putting one foot in front of the other (as opposed to on top of,) that he almost walked directly into Marinette, who caught him gently on the shoulder.  
“Oh,” he startled, “Hey, Marinette. Sorry, the robbery last night kept me awake.” He gave a strange, almost sideways smile, and she studied the dark circles under his green eyes. She'd totally blanked on checking on Adrien the night before, and was kicking herself for it now.   
“I didn’t sleep well either, I’m not sure why though.” She half-lied, smiling at him softly, “I’ve just been to get a coffee, but I could do with another. Want to come?”   
He thought about it for a few seconds, longer than he would have, it took a while to register in his brain.   
“Coffee sounds like a good idea.” He nodded, and she turned to lead the way to the café.

 

They sat at a table in a much more comfortable silence to the previous day, one born not of awkwardness, but exhaustion, as they sipped at their coffee.   
“Do you think they’d sell camembert?” Adrien asked, sudden but soft enough to not shock Marinette. Plagg was poking him in the ribs.   
“Probably not, they only sell sweets as far as I can tell.” She paused as Tikki perked up against her side, still hidden in her coat from earlier, “I’m going to get a cookie, actually. Would you like one?”   
“They’re probably not as good as yours.” Adrien said before he could stop himself, and the pause that followed _was_ awkward, as Marinette blinked at him in shock and both found a blush creeping across their faces. Adrien’s brain creaked as he tried to find a way to fix this, and he settled on shrugging off his embarrassment, “It’s true.”   
“I. Th-thank you.” Reality caught up with Marinette and she finally comprehended that this was Adrien. Adrien Agreste. In a café, having coffee with her, and he had just complimented her. And all of this was- she pinched herself and bit back a yelp- real, not a dream. And that’s Adrien, still watching her curiously.   
“Is that a no?” she managed to choke out, sounding… surprisingly normal.   
“I’d appreciate a cookie.” he smiled, and she swore she melted internally. Chocolate lava cake came to mind, and she blundered her way through the cookie order thinking about the cake she’d bake later.

A handful of students from the school came into the café over lunch, none that Adrien and Marinette recognised, and they managed to make quiet conversation about how busy Ladybug and Cat Noir had been lately.  
“It seems like there’s an akuma attack every other day.” Marinette stirred her coffee sadly, slipping a small chunk of cookie over the edge of the table for Tikki to catch and eat. Adrien nodded, sipped his own coffee,   
“It’s just another thing to worry about,” he said quietly, “I’ve been caught up in more than enough of the attacks.”   
“Me too.” Marinette said, a little too quickly, and as though it reminded him of something he leaned over to tap her arm.   
“How’s the cut?”   
She’d paid no attention to it, not really, but she had wrapped a bandage across a strip of gauze to hold it in place. The scab of the wound kept catching on her clothes and pulling open.   
“Not bad.” She shook her head, forced a smile, “I’ve moved the scissors, now. I won’t make that mistake again.”   
“Scissors?” Adrien tipped his head, bemused, “I thought you hurt yourself with a knife.”   
Marinette froze, brain creaking to fix the mistake.   
“Oh that was this time.” She managed not to stumble, or speak too fast, earning a congratulatory pat from Tikki, “I cut myself so often I lose track of what’s what.” she tugged her other sleeve down to reveal a smaller, almost completely-healed cut, “This was the knife.”   
Adrien frowned and took gentle hold of her wrists, “You really need to be more careful, Marinette. What if you seriously hurt yourself?”

The echo of Cat Noir’s concern for Ladybug, so similar, ricocheted in the backs of their minds.  
“It’s fine.” she reassured through the thoughts, “I’ve had worse.”   
He noticed for the first time the colour of her eyes. Similar, so hauntingly familiar, what to? The thought escaped him, and with it a sigh as he released her.

“I’ll still worry.”

A pause.  
“Thank you.”

 

They drank in peace, took their time to relax before Adrien checked his phone and groaned, “I’d better go, Nathalie will be at school soon.” And stood.  
“O-oh,” Marinette found herself flustered as he stretched out, languid, “See you. Sleep better!”   
“You too.” He smiled, and turned to leave. At the door, he paused, “It was nice hanging out with you, Marinette.”

He was gone before she could reply, and her breath caught in the back of her throat behind her blush, her tiredness forgotten and her coffee cup drained.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Adrien's birthday, and it can't possibly be worse than last year, with The Bubbler. Right?  
> Right?

 

It was a few weeks later that the duo found themselves with reprieve. Two days had gone by without an akuma attack, and they relaxed carelessly on a rooftop. Cat Noir stretched luxuriously, leaning back to lie on the sun-warmed concrete, leaving Ladybug to hum to herself as she alternated between scribbling in a notepad and raking her eyes over the city.  
He’d asked her what she was writing, earlier, and she had snapped the book closed and tapped him gently on the nose, explaining that she wouldn’t tell him because it could be a hint to her identity. Despite the thirst this fueled, he accepted it graciously.

She was scribbling down notes and sketches for new designs, for clothes, for recipes, cakes, anything that came to mind.  
“Cat?” she asked him, and he hummed in acknowledgement. She rolled her eyes, “When’s your birthday?”  
A quiet came over them,  
“Isn’t that a dangerous topic?” he asked casually, sitting up to meet her eyes. She tilted the book away and thought about this for a moment.   
“Give me a month. And early or late. That’s all I need.”  
“Late May.” He gave her a wide grin, “Very very soon.”  
Ladybug groaned gently. She hadn’t expected her partner’s birthday to be so close to Adrien’s, or so soon. She would have to work twice as hard to finish both Adrien and Cat Noir’s gifts.

“My lady?” He waved a hand at her, and she started out of her stupor,  
“Sorry. I was thinking about your present.” She smiled at him, her brain rolling with the sketches and sketches of various cat-themed cakes, “Would next week or the week after be better?”  
“You don’t have to do anything!” Cat protested, “It’s rare that anyone does.”  
“That’s all the more reason to do something!” Ladybug retorted, tilting her head, “Answer, please!”  
“Next week.” Cat relented a little too easily for his liking, but the grin Ladybug gave him made it impossible for him to beat himself up about it.

 

Marinette filled every second with her work for the two best boys in Paris. Between school and homework and patrol came downtime, and she filled that first with Adrien’s gift; a completely handmade bracelet, one that he could attach her charm to. She knew he appreciated it, she’d even seen a sneak peak of it on occasion when he moved, or opened his bag. Even if he didn’t wear it, he carried it, and that was enough.

She also knew he admired Cat Noir, and that gave him a particular fondness for cats. Or maybe he liked Cat Noir because he liked cats? Either way, she was carving a new, tiny cat charm out of a small block of wood. Now, wood wasn’t her strongest suit, but she had to admit to herself she was doing well.

 

She ended up baking the cake the day she planned on giving it to him, and turned up in their usual meeting place still streaked with flour that she hadn’t managed to catch.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t quite aware of it. A white streak across her cheek and dusting her hair, but she landed neatly, one arm carefully guarding the cake, beaming with pride.   
“Happy birthday!” She told Cat excitedly, holding the box out to him. He stared at it incredulously for five whole seconds before he took it from her, and she sat to pat the ground. He joined her, set the cake box between them, and lifted the lid off gingerly.

She had made a half-sphere shaped cake, with cute eyes that resembled Cat’s own, and ears made of modelling chocolate. The inside of the cat’s ears were lime green, the same lime green of Cat Noir’s ring, and she had set a small box in front of the cake painted like his bell.  
“The box is for your Kwami.” She explained, grinning a little, “I guessed it’s probably not _you_ that enjoys camembert.”  
He stared, shocked, then broke into a grin. He nudged the cake safely aside, then threw himself at her. She swore at least one bone cracked under the force of his hug, and as she returned, she felt the telltale shake of a sob.  
“Cat?” She said quietly, concerned, and he tightened briefly before sitting back and swiping at his eyes, grinning despite the tears. She leaned toward him, “Are you okay?”  
“Sorry, I’m fine,” he assured, “I don’t usually get gifts.”  
“Even as a civilian?” She asked him, and he smiled sadly,  
“Especially as a civilian. Though I haven’t had my birthday this year, who knows, maybe it’ll change?”  
Marinette felt a pang of pity for him, like Adrien, he suffered alone. How sad it must be for him!  
“I hope it does.” She smiled at him, leaned over, and hesitated briefly before kissing him gently on the cheek. “I should probably go, though, and thank the wonderful baker.” and grinned briefly.  
“Baker?” Cat questioned through his shock, “Who?”  
“The Dupain-Cheng’s bakery.” She answered, quickly, and berated herself for being too quick.  
“Oh, yeah!” He tapped her arm. Her left arm. “How’s the cut?”  
“It’s fine.” She shook the correct arm at him, ignoring the brief flash of confusion, “I bandage it to stop it catching on my clothes.”  
A look of shock and recognition crossed him briefly, and she stood to brush herself down. “See you later, Cat!”

And she was gone, and his mind rolled and roiled and the sudden recognition he had had disappeared and he hated himself for being unable to pick it back up again.

He took the cake home.

“Aww, it’s _your_ birthday and she got _me_ camembert!” Plagg exclaimed, opening the bell box to tuck in, “I’m starting to see why you love her so much.”

Adrien sighed and tutted at him affectionately as he hid the cake in a cupboard only he got into. He later smuggled a dinner knife to his room, cut himself a slice, and revelled in the delicious taste of the cake.  
“I thought Ladybug had made the cake, for a bit.” He told Plagg sagely, cutting a small piece off for the Kwami, “She was covered in flour. But this is definitely Marinette’s work! Maybe she tried to make it herself and it went badly.” He rambled his theories out to Plagg, who ate without really listening, then settled beside Adrien to nap.

 

Monday brought with it Adrien’s birthday.

Marinette found herself at his desk first thing, her nervousness forming only the background noise. For once.  
“Happy birthday!” she told him, handing the small box to him. He beamed at her, pocketed it,  
“I’ll open it at lunch.” He assured, “I want time to appreciate it.”  
And that was that. He found himself fighting back tears when he opened it, and swore to he he’d never take it off. He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, gently, affectionately. Why couldn’t he ever hug people as Adrien? Why was that Cat’s job?

 

The Agreste manor was too often a base for those akumatised.  
Nathalie was not the intended victim for the day, no, in fact Hawkmoth had been aiming for Adrien’s Chinese tutor, when his student had faked his excitement in reaction to his announcement that the day’s lesson would end early as a birthday gift.

It had instead found its way back into the mansion, settling idly on Natalie’s jacket as she closed the door to Gabriel Agreste’s office, having received an angry, quiet bout of beration for forgetting Adrien’s birthday present.

She found herself void of Hawkmoth’s instruction, as he wasn’t watching from his lair, and she took this liberty to stretch out.

She found it deliciously ironic that the man who had caused this was the man who had handed her the power to create her revenge.  
But how?  
Adrien.

 

Adrien was with Ladybug, quite nearby, actually; he’d spotted the akuma from his window and transformed immediately to contact Ladybug- they’d been due to meet up later that evening anyway, and it was fortunate happenstance that he managed to get in contact with her.

They’d been scouring the street where Cat said he’d seen the akuma when they heard the crashing first. They perched on a windowsill outside Adrien’s room, watching the akumatised Nathalie tear the room up, and barely had chance to move before she let out an inhuman screech and climbed up to the window between them, looked at them both, and fled.

“Adrien!”   
Gabriel burst into the room, and the superheroes slid in the window to meet him,  
“She’s taken my son!”  
“She didn’t bother with us at all.” Cat told Ladybug, frowning, “She just rushed right past.”

“She’s taken Adrien?” Ladybug ignored him to fret to Gabriel, “How do you know?”  
  


It was that moment that Nathalie- no, The Gift- contacted Gabriel, an evil cackle rising in spirals from his tablet, he didn’t even have the choice to reject the call.   
“Ah, Ladybug, Chat Noir,” She caught sight of the superheroes in the background as Gabriel lifted the tablet, “How lovely to see you, I’m so sorry we couldn’t stop to chat! I had to escort my _cargo_ to a new, safe place.” She spun, and Cat Noir started to see… himself, sitting in a chair, tied up and unconscious. He seemed to be bleeding, his head lolled forward, and both Ladybug and Gabriel jerked at once, much to The Gift’s great amusement. Cackling, swarmed their senses, and Ladybug heard nothing but dim buzzing as The Gift went through a speech, a lecture, the best birthday present she could give Adrien was this, a reprieve from his father.   
Ladybug caught the echo of her words, a flash of scenery, and knew where she was going. She took Cat Noir by the wrist and pulled, horror and shock and rage making her a shell hell-bent on one thing; saving Adrien.

The Gift, as she had so eloquently explained, intended to- to- well. There was only one way to escape Gabriel for good.

Once they had left, The Gift spun her sunken, tired eyes back to Gabriel’s horrified ones.  
“By the time you can control me again, I will have their Miraculous’, sir.” She informed him, smugly, “At least you’ll have one thing from Adrien’s death.”  
He did not hear. The tablet cracked as it hit the floor, and Gabriel Agreste was running for the first time in years to get to his hidden lair, transform, take back control.

She knew he would not be fast enough.

  
  


Cat Noir pulled at Ladybug as they sped through Paris.  
“It’s not real! Hawkmoth has _never_ killed people, not like this, not with blood.”  
“But he _has_ tried to kill people.” She bit back, cold, level, impersonal, “Time Breaker. The Pharaoh. Befana.”  
“Ladybug. My Lady. Slow down, think about what you’re doing!”  
“Every second we wait, Adrien gets closer to-” She choked off her own word, grabbed his wrist to steer him in a different direction. She could see the top of the building.

“It’s not _real_!” He threw himself in her path, forcing her to stop, “This isn’t like you, why are you so worked up?”  
“He’ll _die_ , Cat!” Her voice bordered on hysterical, he shook his head,  
“It’s not that, people have come close to dying before. Why is this different?”  
She shoved past him, wordless, and he followed her into the air. They landed on the roof.  
“Ladybug, _what’s different?_ ” he hissed the words, a demand for her to tell him. She drew herself up, he saw tears as she raised a foot, met his eyes,  
“It’s different because I’m in love with him, Cat. Get ready.”

He couldn’t show his shock, didn’t have time to, she stamped her foot and the two fell through the roof.

 

“Darkwings, form!” Hawkmoth called out for Nooroo as soon as he set foot in the lair, where Nooroo was napping against a photo. The kwami gave a shocked yelp as he spun toward him, and Hawkmoth was horrified to find himself detransforming immediately.  
“Nooroo!” He gritted his teeth, “I said-”  
“Master, please, I’m sorry!” Nooroo flinched away, “I’ve exhausted myself, I- I- I need time, or food-”  
Gabriel turned on his heel, beckoning the Kwami over his shoulder, “Then you eat. I need to transform. Immediately.”

 

The Gift turned to the explosion of dust with a wide smile.  
“As I suspected, welcome. Welcome, Ladybug and Chat Noir!” she greeted, no, crooned, as she paced a circle around the Adrien sitting in the chair.

“H-help-” the plea was cut off with a crack, The Gift caught one of his cheeks in her open palm and his head bounced away like a ball. The impact either shocked him to submission, or knocked him out. He slumped, and the re-opened wound on his head began to sluggishly bleed.  
“You want my Miraculous?” Ladybug offered a hand to Cat Noir, to aid him to his feet. He took it, pulled himself up, stared at her. How could he prove to her? How- was the Adrien an illusion? He must be, it couldn’t be real.  
“Not real.” He breathed, and The Gift laughed at them both.  
“Cat Noir, if you doubt the authenticity of my merchandise, feel free to check it over.” She stepped to the side, waving a hand at Adrien. Ladybug stepped forward, and The Gift ‘Ah-ah-ah’-ed at her, grabbing a fistful of hair. “Not you, Ladybug. You are quite right, though, the price for this particular item’s sorrow is your Miraculous. And his, too.” She jerked her head at Cat Noir, who had stumbled over. He ran his hand across Adrien’s face. His face. His hair. He pressed his hand to the wound, a numb attempt to stop the bleeding.  
“Is it him?” Ladybug asked, quiet, and Cat didn’t know how to answer because that _was_ him.  
“No.” He forced himself to answer, and The Gift let out a disgruntled noise, whipping the fake Adrien’s head back to bare his throat.  
“Don’t lie, Cat Noir.” The Gift leered, “I don’t have time for lies.”  
“Hawkmoth doesn’t kill like this.” Cat choked the words out, stepping back quickly, and The Gift’s leer split into the most horrifying grin either superhero had ever seen.  
“Ah, have you not figured it out? Not yet? Hawkmoth has no leverage here.”

Ladybug felt her blood running cold. Cat’s eyes widened, terror coursing through him.

And Ladybug was lashing out, her yo-yo whipping toward The Gift, who grimaced.  
“I don’t think so, Ladybug.” She tittered through the solemn expression, and suddenly her fingertips were claws, she pressed to Adrien’s neck. Blood beaded. Ladybug yanked her yo-yo back.

“Your Miraculous first, please, Ladybug.”  
“Cat.” Ladybug told him, resigned, “Please don’t look.”

Pink light bathed the room, and Cat stepped forward from her, hiding her from his field of view as she detransformed.

The Gift cackled wildly, finally stepping away from the fake Adrien to rush to Ladybug. Or what was Ladybug. Whoever it was. He refused to break her confidence, ran instead to the fake Adrien.  
“Cataclysm.” He raked the bubbling void down the bindings of the imposter, releasing him.   
He was conscious, and perhaps that was what made the rest of the battle so easy to formulate.

Cat remembered little of it, just that the Adrien from the chair had ran to a corner, cowered away, that Cat Noir had went head-to-head with The Gift in a horrific, screeching battle of hand-to-hand, his baton sent flying in moments, Ladybug’s Miraculous sent skittering across the floor.

And then The Gift stopped.

“Nathalie!” Hawkmoth roared from his lair, and she gasped harshly as his rage coursed through her like acid. Weakened her. Cat Noir kicked her off of him, turned to grab Ladybug’s Miraculous. His hand met someone else’s.

She clapped her other hand across his eyes and batted his hand away, grabbing her Miraculous from the floor.  
“No looking!”

So he turned his head away, stepped back, watched Nathalie’s darkness fade from her and the Akuma escape her jacket.  
“Tikki, spots on!” her saw the light from behind him, and made his way to the other corner, where ‘Adrien’ was cowering still. He heard Ladybug de-evilise the Akuma behind him, watched the ripples of pink-red magic flow over the stranger in front of him. Someone that The Gift had pulled off of the street and disguised, disguised so well it sickened Cat Noir to think about. The light washed the wounds from the stranger, and Cat found himself speaking unconsciously,  
“It’s over now. You’re safe. You can leave.”  
And he ran.

Nathalie lay on the floor, unconscious.

She had seen Ladybug unmasked.

Ladybug.  
He turned and flung himself at her, and found she flung herself right back. They collapsed down, sobbing in the musty straw and rubble, clinging to one another.

They didn’t hear Cat’s Miraculous beeping anxiously at him. Only registered when the green glow shone through Ladybug’s eyelids.   
“You should go, before someone sees you.” Ladybug said, her voice muffled by his shirt. Her head swum, and then horror coursed through them as they heard Nathalie sit up.

“What’s… going on?” She asked them, and Ladybug quickly shuffled Cat into the straw to move around him, to Nathalie, any attempt to distract her.  
“Are you okay, ma’am?”  
There was no getting out of this, Adrien knew, as Nathalie caught sight of him.  
“Adrien!” She gasped, lurching forward. Hazy memories of what she’d done dizzied her, making her feel sick. Ladybug. She remembered Ladybug surrendering. Couldn’t make out her face.

Ladybug herself turned, breath shallow and dull.

Adrien finally met her eyes, and she knew.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but since you informed us that you were acting of your own accord rather than Hawkmoth’s, the police will want to talk to you. I would guess they’ll be here any moment.”

“But Adrien-”  
“Will be fine. I will escort him home.” She bowed, and waited with Nathalie at the door until the police arrived, right on time, just as she had predicted.

 

Ladybug waved an arm at the police who insisted they keep Adrien,  
“His father was frantic. You know where to find him, you can question him in the morning.” and she looped an arm around his waist, he clung close to her, and they swung away.

 

They paused on a roof, only momentarily.  
“Cat.” It was an accusation. Adrien hung his head.  
“My Lady.”  
“That’s how you knew it wasn’t real. That’s how you knew it was a disguise. _That’s how you knew Lila’s Adrien was an illusion_.” memories surged back to her, and she choked on her own thoughts. If he was both Cat and Adrien, he had seen the injuries to her arm, she had given him parallel excuses. Had he figured it out?  
They sat, silent and stunned.

“Adrien, do you… have you… do you know who I am?”

He looked up at her, met her eyes under the bright moonlight.

It was like lightning. All of the unrelated, silly things hit him all at once. The cuts, the one she’d taken from Renoir, the excuse she’d given him in class. He’d known, somehow, he remembered tapping the wrong arm on Ladybug’s suite. The one from the knife, not from battle, the one Marinette had shown him in the Café.

The Café when they’d been so tired, because they had both been fighting so hard and so long the night before.

Her eyes.

How had he not noticed her eyes?  
“Marinette.” He breathed to her.

“Let’s get you home.” She grimaced, “We can talk about this tomorrow.”

 

Gabriel was… well, overjoyed was inaccurate, but relieved was not strong enough to express the emotions exuding from him when Ladybug delivered Adrien home. They paused at the door, only long enough for a second of privacy between the two.

“I love you.” He told her. And then the door was closed, he was gone, and Ladybug pressed a hand to her chest to feel her heart flutter.


End file.
